Effect of Biannual Shearing on Body Weight and some Wool Characteristics of Barki Ewes under Semi-Arid Conditions

Eighteen adult non-pregnant; non-lactating Barki ewes, aged 3-4 years with initial body weight of 36.71 ± 4.798 (kg) were randomly divided to three groups (n=6). The first group (G1) was kept unshorn along two years (spring 2016 to spring 2018), the second group (G2) was shorn once in the common time of spring (2017) while the third (G3) was shorn biannually in spring and autumn (2017) to investigate the effects of biannual shearing on body weight, some fleece traits, wool production and some wool traits. Mid-side samples of about 200 gram of wool were taken from each animal just before 2018 shearing to determine the studied wool traits. No significant differences were detected among G1, G2 and G3 in final body weight. Biannual shearing improved (P<0.05) the body weight gain, wool yield, cotting grade, the uniformity of fiber diameter in G3 fleeces compared with the corresponding values of G1 and G2. Moreover, G2 and G3 produced more clean wool, higher  percentages of fine fibers, stronger staples with higher elongation rate than G1 (P<0.05). Mean fiber diameter, Kemp score, prickle factor and medullation index declined (P<0.05) in G2 and G3 compared with G1. The results indicated that biannual shearing as a management procedure could be conducted with no expected negative effects on most of the wool traits. It might also be useful in improving body weight gain, clean wool production, wool yield, uniformity of fiber diameters, staple strength and elongation rate.